How Julius Thedford embodied ‘true Memphis’ in Tigers’ win over Louisville

Julius Thedford walked off the court with both arms raised high above his head as he looked up into a sea of Memphis basketball fans.

The junior guard clapped his hands, then high-fived his way through the tunnel at FedExForum. He turned around and embraced assistant coach Tony Madlock, then turned back around and hugged athletic director Ed Scott.

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A fitting reception for Thedford after his 16-point, five-rebound, two-steal showing in the Tigers’ remarkable 98-78 upset win over No. 10 Louisville. After all, Thedford is from Memphis, born and raised – one of five hometown players on Penny Hardaway’s roster this season. Thedford is one of two players who endured last season’s agonizing 13-19 campaign (which included a 99-73 loss at Louisville). And Thedford made his first start of the season – in place of Luke Almodovar, who missed the game due to a concussion – stepping up to spark the Tigers to another exhilarating win against a longtime rival.

For Hardaway, Thedford’s performance was especially satisfying.

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“I had a heart-to-heart talk with Julius,” said Hardaway. “Because, Julius, he’s more of an offensive player than he’s kind of giving himself credit for. He’s kind of pushed himself into a role of just being a role player. When he was at Western Kentucky, he was on the way to being the freshman of the year in that conference until he broke his kneecap.

“I’m like, ‘Man, you have to find yourself again. Have confidence. I believe in you.’ He told me that’s all he needed to hear. And he came out today and played that way.”

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“That way” was deftly illustrated by what was perhaps the game’s defining sequence. Memphis fell behind early, trailing by 18 points with 12:18 left in the first half. The Tigers never panicked, battling back to cut the deficit to 11 points at halftime.

They found another gear in the second half, hitting seven of their first nine shots to take a 59-57 lead. Louisville hit a bucket to tie things up at 59. That’s when Thedford gave Memphis a massive lift.

Thedford buried a 3-pointer – his second of the game – with 14:11 remaining in the game to make it a 62-59 lead.

Memphis never trailed again.

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Nineteen seconds later, Louisville’s Seth Trimble (the former North Carolina guard) attempted to throw down a one-handed poster dunk. But Thedford – all 6-foot-3 of him – soared into the air and emphatically denied Trimble, electrifying the announced crowd of 12,516.

Thedford’s teammates lit up when asked about the dunk in the postgame press conference.

“Yeah that block was huge,” reserve center William Whorton said. “I know Trimble’s an athlete. We’re both from the same area in Wisconsin, so I saw it all growing up. That block was huge.”

Tylik Weeks, whose 24 points were tied for the game-high with Jayden Reid (who also had 10 assists), said he wasn’t surprised by it.

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“That’s what JT does, he just makes winning plays,” said Weeks. “Whether it’s rebounding, defending, knocking down shots. That was a huge block. Luke was hurt, so JT got the start and he stepped up.”

Hardaway – another Memphian through and through – called Thedford’s epitome of 3-and-D “the largest sequence of the game.”

“Yeah, that’s true Memphis right there,” said Hardaway. “He understood what this game meant to us as a city. That’s all he wants to do is represent the city and win. Big game for him.”

Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com, follow him @munzly on X.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: How Julius Thedford embodied ‘true Memphis’ in Tigers’ win over Louisville

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